Individual well-being is inherently connected to collective well-being because “one without the other is not sustainable” (Walther, 2020).
“COVID-19 is a reminder that humans around the world are fundamentally all the same; the result of four dimensions—soul, heart, mind and body, which find their expression in aspirations, emotions, thoughts and sensations. Thus, the unfolding situation may either serve as a social equaliser, because it affects people independently from their passport, income, skin colour, gender and skills, or it may cultivate a groundswell of drastic disconnection. Everyone is affected by the coronavirus and the measures to contain it, directly or indirectly; yet the way in which individuals are impacted by the situation varies dramatically, on a physical, mental, social and material level. The universality of impact coupled with the unequal chances of survival is a prime illustration of the systemic social paradox that has shaped our collective existence for centuries” (Walther, 2020).
This concept that all individuals are equal, but different situations affect different populations shows that our concept of us all being equal does not mean we are actually navigating life equally.
“Four principles apply to individuals and society alike: 1. Connection: everything is linked to everything else; nothing happens in a vacuum. 2. Change: everything always evolves; nothing stays the same forever. 3. Continuum: everything is part of a whole; nothing occurs secluded from the rest. 4. Complementarity: everything needs something else to be complete; no phenomenon occurs without a counterpart that may be its opposite” (Walther, 2020).
“Internally, the interaction between our aspirations, emotions, thoughts and sensations influences who and how we are, what we do, and how we interact with our environment. Externally, the mutual interplay between individuals and institutions shapes the society that we evolve in, and the individuals in it” (Walther, 2020).
Our aspirations lead to our emotions which leads into thoughts and therefore our sensations about the world externally (Walther, 2020).
If we take these sensations and move them into the being of the individual, we can understand how we as individuals affect our families, close communities, broader society, and planet.
These concepts are affected by things like social norms “which are the unwritten rules of behaviour considered acceptable in a group or society, result from the interplay between beliefs and behaviour, between individuals and larger communities” and “being aware of our common foundation, we can shape our lives rather than be puppets pushed under by the torrential current of a crisis. Everything is connected. Micro-level optimisation conditions the optimisation of collective dynamics. How individuals, institutions, countries and the planet interact simultaneously and cross-dimensionally determines society” (Walther, 2020).
This framework that describes how we are all connected can help influence the way we understand how our personal finance and well-being is understood within ourselves and in the broader societies we live in. This connection helps design focus on the fact that whatever we design is not only affecting an individual but the collective whole. With this perspective, the framework in which we design is completely different than if we were focusing strictly on an individual or a designed object in a vacuum.
References:
Walther, C. (2020). From Individual Wellbeing to Collective Welfare: A New Perspective of Being and Becoming in a Post-Pandemic World. The Humanitarian Leader. https://doi.org/10.21153/thl2020volno0art1014
